The 2015 Canon was a benchmark wine that seemed to revitalize this historic estate. I was crossing my fingers that it would not disappoint in bottle and I am glad to say that it delivers the goods. It has a very intense bouquet (just as it showed out of barrel) with laser-like precision offering wild strawberry, raspberry preserve, wet limestone and hints of truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, clean and fresh with pure black and red fruit whose every atom appears infused with minerals. The mouth is tingling long after the wine has exited and your brain is thinking...when is the next sip coming? It is frankly heads and shoulders above almost every Saint Émilion this vintage, to reaffirm, a benchmark for this historic estate that will give pleasure to many over the coming years. Astonishing. Anticipated maturity: 2021 - 2050.

Score: 100

Neal Martin, -, March 2018

The 2015 Canon is going to be a benchmark for this historic estate. A blend of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, it was cropped at 42 hl/ha between 14-25 September and 30 September until 2 October respectively. The alcohol level is an average 14.5% with a pH 3.78, matured for 18 months in 70% new barrels (except for one barrel of Cabernet Franc that they will bottle separately - just to see). Lucid in color, it has an intense bouquet that exudes extraordinary purity with scents of raspberry, wild strawberry, limestone and violets. It makes a huge impression. The palate is medium-bodied and multilayered with vivacious red and black fruit infused with minerals. The acidity lends the tension here from start to finish, but what this Canon possesses unlike the dozens of other vintages that I have tasted, is an overarching structure that will see it age in similar fashion to past classics such as the 1929, 1947 and 1964. It lingers very long in the mouth, the oak just surfacing a little on the aftertaste, although that will be subsumed with time. This estate has been in the ascendant in recent vintages under winemaker John Kolasa and now Nicolas Audebert, together with a benevolent growing season, has elevated Canon to a level that few could have predicted. Drink: 2025 - 2060

Score: 98/100

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

Composed of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc and aged for 18 months in 70% new and 30% one-year-old barrels, the 2015 Canon is boldly fruited with blackberry preserves, black cherry compote, fruitcake, mocha and plum preserves with suggestions of Indian spices, licorice and black olives. Full-bodied and packed with ripe, rich dried berries and exotic spice layers, it has a firm, slightly chewy structure and just enough freshness (the pH is 3.78), finishing long and savory. Give it another 2-3 years of cellaring to soften its edges and allow its flavor spectrum to fully emerge, and drink it over the next 20 to 25+ years. 2020 - 2045

Score: 96

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018

Seductive. The nose draws you in deep: It’s like staring into a well of pristine dark cherries, dark plums, blackberries and mulberries. All the oak is perfectly subsumed. The palate’s flawless with immense depth and power and it’s so balanced as to appear to float. Immaculate fresh dark-berry and plum flavors. Silky and deep, ribbon-like finish. Perfect. Best from 2022.

Score: 100

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

This is the greatest red ever produced here, even better than the great wines of the 1950s and 1960s. Full body yet tight and reserved. Superbly refined tannins. Yet rich and flamboyant. Fruity yet salty and minerally. Electric finish. Stone and chalk undertones. A wonder of a young wine.

Score: 100

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

From the very beginning, the 2015 Canon has made an eloquent case for itself as one of the wines of the vintage. Multiple tastings from bottle only confirm what several early tastings hinted at: the 2015 Canon is simply extraordinary in every way. Sumptuous and exotic, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, the 2015 grabs hold of all the senses and never lets up. A rush of red fruit intermingled with floral notes, spice and smoke notes effortlessly runs up the wine's vertical structure as the 2015 thrills with every twist and turn. The 2015 Canon is a rare wine that is both hedonistic and intellectual - well, maybe it is a bit more hedonistic-leaning. It doesn't matter. Don't miss it. This 2015 is masterpiece from General Manager Nicolas Auderbert and his team at Canon. 2025 - 2065

Score: 100

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, February 2018

The 2015 Canon is one of the undisputed stars of the vintage. An utterly mesmerizing wine, Canon has it all; alluring aromatics; towering structure, fabulous depth, and exceptional balance. The aromas and flavors are remarkably nuanced for such a big wine. Waves of graphite, exotic spices, smoke, herb, licorice, violets and crème de cassis appear at every angle as this utterly profound Saint-Émilion shows off its pedigree. So far I have tasted the 2015 four times. It has never been anything less than sensational. Quite simply, Canon is one of the few truly must-have wines of 2015. It is every bit that memorable.

Score: 96/98

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, April 2016

Tasted blind. Interesting broad, leafy notes on the nose. Lots of energy and richness. Real depth and excitement. Long and such a pace in the wine. Smooth and sweet and charming. Tannins well hidden. They picked relatively early here.Drink 2025-2042

Score: 17.5

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

Very bright, deep crimson. Again, like the 2016, really savoury and appetising on the nose (not too sweet compared with Ch Canon La Gaffelière). Smooth and much sweeter on the palate. Fruit battling the considerable tannins. Masses buried in here. So juicy and alluring! Hint of pencil-shavings flavour (the Cabernet Franc?) but not the pencil-shavings texture which can be awkward. A triumph.Drink 2025-2046

Score: 17.5+

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2018

Sample 1, from a new Taransaud barrique: Very dark crimson. Very complete and juicy on the nose. Very rich and glorious! Luscious and spicy. Deep and rich. Quite savoury and structured. Very fine and tight. Dry finish. Not as much fun to taste in isolation. Doubtless a useful ingredient. Slightly drying end. Sample 2, from a new St Martin barrique: Very dark crimson. Very sweet and floral on the nose. Ripe and round. Lots to enjoy here! Real lift and very sophisticated. So long! Sample 3: And finally an official sample at the château: strong hint of iodine on the nose. Very luscious and supple at first and then with massive velvety tannins and almost dried-fruit sweetness and concentration. Bravo!Drink 2023-2040

Score: 17.5+

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016

There has been huge investment here recently in the vineyard (which is planted 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc) and chai by owners Chanel. The Chateau itself has recently enjoyed a substantial make-over. This is a great property that made fabulous wines in the past but dipped in form during the 1990's. It is now right back up there as one of the very best of all the Saint Emilion Chateaux. New director Nicolas Audebert has come in from Krug via South America. The 2015 blend is 72% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple colour. Violets, blueberries and cherries on this incredibly lifted and aromatic notes. The palate is fresh with acidity but intense with incredibly vibrant blue and black fruits. The tannins are silky smooth and very refined, drawing out a graphite mineral edge which balances superbly with the sweet vanilla and lightly smoky notes from the new oak. This has a long and well-defined, elegant finish. A really superb wine again this year, which defines the balanced, lifted style of St Emilion that we love at Farr Vintners.

Score: 17.5+

Farr Vintners, March 2016

One of the wines of the vintage is the 2015 Château Canon which is 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 70% new French oak. It offers a perfect example of the old saying “iron fist in a velvet glove” and boasts gorgeous notes of black cherries, framboise, spring flowers and exotic spices. All these lead to a full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless 2015 that marries incredible richness and depth with a sense of purity, elegance, and weightlessness that needs to be tasted to believed. This multi-dimensional, seamless 2015 needs forgotten for 4-5 years and will keep for three decades or more. Bravo! 2022 - 2052

Score: 98+

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

Ripe fruit on the nose the start of the palate is sweet with depth of fruit in the middle. The velvety richness is balanced by bilberry and bramble freshness but it fills out at back opulent and rich yet the finish has a mineral edge. 2022-35

Score: 92/95

Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

With some herb and spice notes overlaying a lush but not forced core this is a calm wine with some latent power anddeep, dark depth. The oak is under control and the fruit is incredibly focussed, resulting in a long-lived style which shunsthe flamboyance of many and remains true to its terroir.

Score: 18+

Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016

Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.